cromox® stainless-steel round link chain

Even today, after 75 years of existence of the company, the predicate "Made in Germany" represents a high guiding value for us in the production of stainless-steel chains for lifting equipment. Our own test laboratory with a capacity of up to 160 t stands for this, as does the stable number of our annual stainless cromox® product developments in the field of chains and other slings.

The family-run company Ketten Wälder GmbH now offers more than 1,000 solutions for lifting loads and sells its products in more than 50 countries. Accordingly, the excellent stainless-steels and duplex alloys for the chains have gained worldwide respect in their respective grades. Naturally, the stainless-steel chains according to DIN 766 or DIN 5687 play an immense role, considering the versatility of their applications.

Round link chains according to DIN 766 or DIN 5687 are mostly used as so-called slings. Thus, as chains, they represent the connection between a load-bearing element, i.e. the hoist, and the element to be carried, i.e. the load. If, on the other hand, they are firmly connected to the crane, for example, they are part of the hoist as load-bearing equipment. Due to the possible danger to both the load and the operating personnel, the professionally used slings are subject to certain regulations and standards, which concern both their use in certain areas and environments, as well as their load capacity and loading capacity.

When you order a stainless-steel cromox® round link chain today, this chain has not only passed various testing steps. It is also clearly marked with regard to the quality class of the material (components according to DIN EN 818), its load capacity and the product name cromox®. In Germany, chains used as slings must be inspected, documented and approved annually by an expert. Every three years, chains used as slings are tested to ensure that they are free of cracks.

A grade is a classification of materials according to their properties under certain circumstances or environments. For round link chains and similar chain slings, for example, DIN EN 818-1 or DIN EN 814-2 are used for this purpose. The classifications for the qualities of stainless-steel alloys differ from the classification according to a grade. For slings with low requirements, corrosion protection is produced by e.g. galvanizing. However, the attribute 'galvanized steel' is by no means sufficient for aggressive environments. The stainless-steel material grade AISI 316L, as used for cromox® chains, corresponds approximately to the actually obsolete grade designation stainless-steel VA4. Although this designation is still used on the market, it has actually become obsolete due to technical developments in the manufacture of stainless-steel products. EN 10312, introduced in 2002, describes the specification in terms of mechanical and corrosion properties for AISI 316L stainless-steel. That includes heat resistance up to 350° Celsius, notched impact strength and breaking load. In addition, this includes resistance to acids, salts, alkalis and other chemical influences.

Material AISI 316L is a designation for a stainless-steel with the chemical designation X2CrNiMo17-12-2. It is an austenitic steel with high corrosion resistance, especially to chlorides. It is therefore used primarily in the chemical industry, in the maritime sector and in the food industry.